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Peace, though it's been out of print for ages and is therefore a little more difficult to find than some of Wolfe's work, is an imaginative Faustian tale (though, as all of Wolfe's work is, it is only slyly so). It's also, like BotNS, fragmented and disorienting as hell. I also really enjoyed The Sorcerer's House. You don't see epistolary novels very often anymore. You'll want to keep very close track of characters, their actions, and their personalities - a lot of the story is about twins, who are, in the book as in real life, easy to confuse for each other.
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Sep 12, 2011 06:39
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Argali posted:I'm reading a collection of his short stories, Endangered Species. Really amazing stuff overall, I'll post a review when I'm done. I've read them. It's interesting to see Wolfe write a child.
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Sep 13, 2011 05:52
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Neurosis posted:I haven't read Memorare, so I couldn't tell you. An Evil Guest is not Wolfe's best work. It borrows more from early 20th century pulp than it does from Lovecraft, although the Lovecraftian connections become more evident as the novel goes on. Not recommended unless you are a Wolfe completionist. (i) Operation Ares (which even Wolfe doesn't like); Haven't read this one; no comment. (ii) Free Live Free; One of Wolfe's more opaque novels, on the order of Peace. Follows what I will affectionately call a motley crew of broke losers. Interesting cast of characters. Set in ca. mid 20th century Chicago. Ending felt, to me, somewhat deus ex machina-ey. Pro tip: While reading, draw up a timeline and keep careful track of indicators of time. (iii) Pirate Freedom; Surprisingly straightforward, adventure on the high seas in the Caribbean. Less intricate than your average Wolfe novel. Relatively unsurprising twist ending. (iv) Castleview; Modern-day re-imagining of the Arthurian mythos. Try to work out the correspondences if you can. (v) Pandora, by Holly Hollander; Another relatively straightforward tale, especially for Wolfe. Detective story starring a naif. (vi) The Devil in a Forest. Coming-of-age story set in the Middle Ages, in what feels like Eastern Europe to me. The characters in this one also feel like archetypes, though I'll be damned if I could correctly identify most of them. Honestly, I've read and enjoyed all of the books I "reviewed" above. My favorites of the list were probably Castleview and Free Live Free.
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Oct 26, 2012 03:26
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andrew smash posted:Thoughts on the wizard knight series or there are doors? I remember there are doors being somewhat arcane but I read it long ago, before I was familiar with his other books. I've never read any of the wizard knight books bit I'm curious about them. "There Are Doors" is about a man who is either mentally ill or has stumbled into interdimensional travel. Because it's Wolfe, either could be true, but my opinion is that the protagonist is one crazy motherfucker . It's a love story (love overcoming obstacles) that extends throughout our world and into another. I enjoyed it, but then again I've never really read anything by Wolfe that I actively disliked. The Wizard Knight series is about a boy who stumbles into Norse mythology, basically. It's one of his more straightforward series, but I found the ending [of the second book, i.e. the ending of the series] to be somewhat unsatisfying. One thing that sticks out about the series is that the narrator (Wolfe's literary conceit is that the novels are essentially one long-rear end letter that the narrator is writing to his brother) is essentially a "tween" (at least mentally - you'll see what I mean if you read beyond the first ten or twenty pages of the first book). So his motivations are a little gross and unsubtle compared to what you would expect from an adult, and, at least in my opinion, he doesn't grow up too much over the course of the books. I guess the central premise of Wizard Knight is this: Imagine you are a ten or eleven year old boy who (like most boys) is enamored with the concept of knighthood and chivalry, and is somehow transported to a world in which you can live out what are your wildest fantasies - how do you behave?
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Oct 26, 2012 06:20
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Neurosis posted:Thanks! As an aside: I am pretty sure that I remember a character literally calling the end of Free Live Free a (literal) deus ex machina, so make sure that sort of thing won't ruin your enjoyment of the story.
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Oct 26, 2012 06:29
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rufius posted:I'm glad I'm not the only one that feels like some of Wolfe's stuff is non-sensical. Honestly you might be better off not trying to interpret the writing and just read it for what all the literary meaning is hung on: a classic coming-of-age adventure story. Don't feel too bad if you skip all the stuff that seems opaque, like Severian/Jolenta/Baldanders/Dr. Talos's play. If you want, you can always come back later.
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Dec 3, 2012 22:38
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Yeah, it's sweet as hell. Make sure you pick up Soldier of Arete and Soldier of Sidon too. A lot of people think Latro might be a particular god, but I don't buy it.
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Jun 13, 2013 09:30
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